Joel D'Souza Clinches Comedians On Board 3
Joel D'Souza clinched the Comedians On Board-3 event after winning his final game over Vaibhav Sethia. The tournament was held on Chess.com during November 19-21. It featured 32 comedians of India who were competing for the total cash prize of 500,000 Indian rupees ($6,750).
Comedians On Board is the brainchild of Samay Raina, who is himself a stand-up comedian, a chess aficionado, and one of India's fastest-growing streamers on YouTube. The second edition was won by Anirban Dasgupta, who called himself the "attacking champion" during the event.
One of the specialties of this event is the category of prizes that keeps the interest going throughout the event. 
Prior to the event, Angad Singh Ranyal (one of the star comedians and participants) was trained by the team of Chess.com India.
He played a clean game to beat Rahul Subramanian in the first round and became the star player of day one.
Angad scored another win on day two as he beat Yahya Bootwala in the pre-quarterfinals, and his game qualified for "Best Mating Position" too.
Angad lost to the eventual winner, Joel D'Souza in the quarterfinals after blundering a rook from a good position. He was also part of a special exhibition match with star cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal on the final day.
The thrilling game of day one was the match between Kaneez Surka and Kusha Kapila.
Absolute thriller!
— Chess.com - India (@chesscom_in) November 19, 2020
We cannot believe it. The chat cannot believe it and the commentators are not able to believe it!@kaneezsurka vs @KushaKapila has gathered nominations for many awards today! pic.twitter.com/azfPAf9RQG
The biggest match of day two, Samay Raina vs. Biswa Kalyan Rath, ended in Samay's favor. He later revealed that the position he got in the game was part of his preparation with his mentor, GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly. Team Sagar Shah had prepared the c3 Sicilian against the O'Kelly, but Biswa went for the Open Sicilian in the game.
Believe it or not, COB3 saw a thrilling armageddon match between GM Abish Mathew and Nishant Tanwar. GM Abish stayed true to his name and drew his match with a lone king. The crowd was stunned as he checkmated Nishant in the armageddon.
The final day saw a lot of action that included exhibition matches too.
We have the first exhibition match starting now and @ReheSamay has given hints of a possible #CricketersOnBoard!@PiratedSardar vs @yuzi_chahal
— Chess.com - India (@chesscom_in) November 21, 2020
Game: https://t.co/nBQ4QKfvqa
Link: https://t.co/3XJqyuUlbn#COB3 pic.twitter.com/Z3mlEss2bM
Joel's mentor, GM Adhiban Baskaran, was elated with Joel's splendid performance after his student played convincingly to win the event. It was clear that Adhiban would be winning the mentor's trophy as the finalists, Vaibhav and Joel, are his students.
What makes the whole contest fun and exciting is the unpredictability of the moves and the mistakes. Samay Raina has dropped some hints for a possible #CricketersOnBoard and that would be very exciting if it happens.
Joel remained devoted to his Caro-Kann throughout the event and won it with a stylish fork.
Congratulations to Joel Dsouza on winning #COB3 🏆
— Chess.com - India (@chesscom_in) November 21, 2020
Joel beat @vaibhav_sethia in today's final.
He wins Rs. 1,00,000 and bragging rights! pic.twitter.com/PHvyNKkQn7
You can replay the final day here:
BREAKING!
— Chess.com - India (@chesscom_in) November 21, 2020
Top-three winners of #COB3
1st Joel Dsouza @coolboy_joel 🥇
2nd Vaibhav Sethia @vaibhav_sethia 🥈
3rd Samay Raina @ReheSamay 🥉 pic.twitter.com/TUcmqXjwOj
Currently work as a community manager for Chess.com India.
I have a GM norm and an IM norm. Became a FIDE Trainer recently. Coached two Indian Teams for the Olympiad for PWD. Apart from playing and teaching chess, I dabble in writing and reading. Can speak in English, Kannada, Hindi, Tamil and Marathi. I recently wrote a short story titled 'Over a Cup of Chai' that's available on amazon. My last novel 'The Lively Library & An Unlikely Romance' is a story of a library where books come to life at night.
My username was Geborgenheit previously.
Geborgenheit is a german word which is hard to explain. It can only be experienced; It could also be inner peace of your soul. Google says 'security' but it is more than that!
I do stream sometimes!
